It was while serving as court painter to Sultan Abdul Hamid II (1842–1918) that Zonaro met the sultan’s eldest son, Şehzade Mehmed Burhaneddin (1885–1949). A deep friendship developed between the two men and the Ottoman prince became an enthusiastic collector of Zonaro’s works. When the revolution broke out and Zonaro’s influential patron, Sultan Abdul Hamid II, was forced into exile, the painter decided to leave Istanbul with his family. La Coda del Diavolo, exhibited for the last time in 1908, probably remained in the artist’s possession until 1910. It would likely have travelled with him to Italy, had not his friend Prince Şehzade Mehmed Burhaneddin visited his studio shortly before his departure. Zonaro ultimately parted with the cherished work, as well as other paintings, by selling them to the prince – a final testament to the deep trust between the two men. The prince wrote, “I am pleased to acknowledge that Monsieur Zonaro is without question the most important artist in the Orient today. I am very happy to have acquired some of his most exquisite paintings, which I consider to be masterpieces.” Following his father’s exile, Prince Burhaneddin moved to Switzerland and then on to Vienna in October 1915. He lived at the Hotel Bristol until late 1921 before moving on to Nice and Paris. In 1930, he made his way to New York, where he settled and lived until his death in 1949.

All trace of this masterpiece, which, along with Dopo il gioco, Fausto Zonaro himself considered to be the most successful and representative work of his early career, was lost in 1910. It is, however, very likely that Prince Burhaneddin took it with him to Europe, where it has now reappeared in a private German collection and is on view once again, for us to admire in all its glory.